When director Matthew Vaughn agreed to direct an adaptation of Mark Millar's Kick-Ass comic book, he decided that he would only do it on his own terms and began looking around for investors to help him finance the $50-million movie. With the funds secured from Hollywood heavyweights, such as Brad Pitt, Vaughn's next challenge was finding a distributor.
A sneak peek of the movie was shown at this year's Wizard World Chicago comic convention, followed by a plea from Millar to "go on the Internet immediately after this happens and just give your honest opinion." Shortly after, a bidding war for the U.S. distribution rights broke out between three studios, with Lionsgate ultimately capturing the prize.
Now, Kick-Ass will go international. In a deal struck between Lionsgate International's sales unit, Mandate International, and Focus Features International, Universal Pictures International will distribute Kick-Ass in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Latin America.
Kick-Ass stars Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Moretz, and Nicolas Cage.